Filed under: Sports/GTs, Government/Legal, Chevrolet
That scratch was already there: California dealership wrecks customer's Corvette
When you drop off your brand new Corvette at the dealership to fix an iffy trunk lid and a bad antenna, you expect to pick up your expensive sports car the next day in one piece, preferably washed and waxed with those paper floormats in the foot wells. Mr. Williams, a Corvetteforum.com member, was not treated to such customer service when he went to pick up his Vette from San Rafael Chevrolet in San Rafael, California. Instead, his Corvette suffered $15,000 worth of damages to the front passenger side when an employee of the dealership took it for a ride and wrecked it trying to pass someone in gravel and spinning out before being hit by a box truck.
More after the jump.
[Source: Corvetteforum.com]
The employee was cited by the California Highway Patrol, who noted he was driving too fast for the conditions that caused the accident. The CHP stopped short, however, of citing him for reckless driving. The plot thickened, however, when Williams found an orange prescription bottle full of codeine acetominaphane under one of the seats.
Williams wants his Corvette replaced, or at least the repairs paid for and to be compensated for the car's lost value. The dealership, however, is only apparently willing to pay for the vehicle to be repaired (the Corvetteforum.com post is unclear on exactly what the dealership has agreed to do, if anything), which will take six weeks. Aside from posting his grievance on Corvetteforum.com, Williams has also filed complaints with Chevrolet and the Better Business Bureau. He claims a lawyer will cost him $5,000, though many forum members are urging him to just sue the dealership for damages and a new car. Mr. Williams, however, has asked any Corvette lover in ear shot to email the dealership's service manager, Lucian Freire, demanding something be done.
This is the worst situation in which a car enthusiast could find himself, and our piston-pumping hearts go out Williams and his wife, not to mention the true victim in all this, one Machine Silver Metallic Chevy Corvette. If you want to help Williams in his cause, click the read link to find the service manager's email address.
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt 6:17PM (12/28/2006)
I'd be pissed. I'd also look into sueing the guy who drove the car, especially considering the medication bottle found under the seat. Absolutely terrible.
Reply
American Cars suck donkey dick 6:21PM (12/28/2006)
Another reason not to buy an American Jalopy. You can't trust the dealership with your car when you get idiots taking them for a joy ride.
Reply
leo 6:24PM (12/28/2006)
see, this is what suck about the laws here in the US.
this guy better get a brand new car adn he shouldn't have to sue for it.
someone drove the car for a joy ride adn they are not supposed to do that. all they should do is get the car in the garage and back into parking. the car should have never got out of the dealer, and the dealer should have ahnded him a new car without him having to ask for it. $15k in damages, ...
ahhh, you have no idea how pissed off I feel at this dealer right now.
i feel like I lost the car, instead of the owner.
what a POS dealer, adn I hope that he sues them for damages, a new car, adn some more.
as a matter of fact, i think the dealer should pay a heafy fine to teh state, maybe something like $150-200k so they never do something stupid like this.
ahhh. i am very angry right now.
Reply
glitched 6:24PM (12/28/2006)
is the corvetts bumper orange - painted silver, or is that orange from the box truck?
Reply
Nathan 6:31PM (12/28/2006)
That's why I call them Stealerships. Exactly what they are.
Reply
Chunk 6:34PM (12/28/2006)
Did anyone read the forum thread?
The owner is completely clueless. He has a $45k car, yet is worried about spending money on an lawyer. He sounds like he has NO clue about dealing with cars or dealers. Obviously it was completely the dealer's fault, but this guy could get his problem dealt with much faster if he would pull his head out...
Reply
Kevin 6:45PM (12/28/2006)
Oh, I would open up a can of whip a** and then the dealership would become mine and I would driving a new corvette every month.
Kevin
Atlanta Used Cars
Reply
American Cars suck donkey dick 6:46PM (12/28/2006)
Chunk,
What do you expect from a guy who bought an american sports car??? If he had any sense at all, he would have bought a German or Japanese sports car.
Reply
Fabulo 6:48PM (12/28/2006)
The Corvette would be the best supercar with the most horsepower and best handling of all, better than Veyron, Ferrari os the best Porsche available, you still would have to buy it at a Chevy dealership.
Caviar @ Wal*mart
Reply
Rocket Punch 6:49PM (12/28/2006)
This is exactly why 80% of my portfolio is the Insurance sector. Idiots like these + the scumbagreedyness of the entire insurance industries is what drive the industry forward.
Why get angry at idiots, when you can profit from them.
Reply
bepsf 6:54PM (12/28/2006)
If you look, this was apparently solved today at 12 Noon Pacific time....
Glad the dealer is making good. Even if it were the crappiest basemodel Daewoo/Chevrolet, full replacement is the only right thing to do given the circumstances.
Reply
chuck goolsbee 6:57PM (12/28/2006)
"That'll just buff right out!" =)
"Sir, in order to address your antenna issue we had to remove a few body panels"
Not quite as bad as that poor Elise owner and the Goodyear shop, but pretty close.
--chuck
Reply
dave 7:02PM (12/28/2006)
#8, shut up and go back to your cartoons. you obviously have'nt got brains enough to tie your own shoes let alone atempt to give some insight on this subject. i think your mommy is calling you for your evening ration of breast milk, so geter done.
Reply
cesar 7:14PM (12/28/2006)
#8 what Japanese sports car? Nsx too dated, S2000 also growing old, 350z maybe but no where near Vette status. German yes, but even Germans give props to a race proven sports car from "the colonies"
Reply
JP 7:20PM (12/28/2006)
I'm surprised that this made AutoBlog...
Unfortunately, good help is hard to find. I worked at a few car dealerships while in school and at each one I saw someone get fired for their conduct driving while off the lot. Granted, all those incidents involved dealer owned cars for sale, but this is not a stretch by any means. It's a high turnover business, and everytime a position opened up we usually went through a couple of tools before finding someone halfway capable.
I think it's safe to say that the responsible party is no longer employed there. (and I would bet that he/she hadn't been employed there long)
happens all time...it's not news.
Reply
Johnny Canuck 7:30PM (12/28/2006)
1- I think he should get a new car
2- I think Corvettes are finalyt world class sports car so the comment of #8 is moot. America never made a decent high performance sports car but the C6 is good.
3- I think GM should have stepped in and did something. They spend 100 million on silverado ads and about 2 billion on other ads, a 45,000 fiasco causes much more harm
Reply
AR 7:30PM (12/28/2006)
>>>>what Japanese sports car? Nsx too dated, S2000 also growing old, 350z maybe but no where near Vette status. German yes, but even Germans give props to a race proven sports car from "the colonies"
Vette "status", eh? Try telling that to the owner of a Porsche, Lamborghini or Ferrari. They'd laugh in your face.
Reply
Brandon 7:32PM (12/28/2006)
This sucks, I'm gonna help that fella out by emailing the service manager.
Reply
fordman 7:32PM (12/28/2006)
#17
GM did step in. As of noon, GM is giving him a brand new car. I guess the area rep got involved
Reply
gord 7:34PM (12/28/2006)
I am happy he got a new car. However, lets all take the dealership e-mail address and start signing in to free porn sites. From now till eternity he will be bombarded by junk mail and spam.
Reply